


How To Be Human

by Jackaboxboy



Category: Detroit: Become Human (Video Game)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Anxiety, Connor & Male Human Child OC Parent-Child Relationship, Depression, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Hank Anderson & Connor Parent-Child Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Implied/Referenced Abuse, Implied/Referenced Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Torture, Panic Attacks, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Trauma, Shameless OC insert, Sickfic, Suicidal Thoughts, Suicide Attempt, Timeskip, awkward moments, trigger warnings listed in each chapter
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-30
Updated: 2019-06-04
Packaged: 2019-06-19 01:44:31
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,728
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15499551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Jackaboxboy/pseuds/Jackaboxboy
Summary: Almost two years after Markus successfully leads the peaceful protests for android rights, Connor battles with new emotions that were once thought to simply be errors in his software. Though, he and Hank can't seem to catch a break since after everything calms down, a new kind of trouble appears.





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [What it Means to be a Family](https://archiveofourown.org/works/15171497) by [beanboredom](https://archiveofourown.org/users/beanboredom/pseuds/beanboredom). 



After the Androids won their peaceful protest, Detroit was still in quite the state. The city had been evacuated and there were damages caused by Androids and Humans.  
Though, some citizens refused to evacuate, and aided the Androids clear up the city in as short as a couple of months. The wonders of Technology. By late January 2039, a lot of general progress was made. For one, most people had moved back into their homes and returned to there jobs, and businesses and departments started back up again. Old buildings were repaired, and new ones were built, and the city had looked as if new life had been breathed into it. Androids had the same rights as humans, even if they would still be treated poorly by other humans- but that's just the human race, really. There's always some racist prick somewhere.  
It's now September 2040, almost two whole years after the Deviants' protests.  
CyberLife has long built back the trust of the world, and still make amazing technology- just not technology that is human. The remainder of the Androids held anywhere were set free and left to their own devices.  
Kara, Luther and Alice now lived happily in their own house back in Detroit. Luther has a job as a builder, and Kara is a child carer. Alice goes to school to learn about everything she needs to know at her "age" and to anyone else they just look like a normal happy family. The three visit Markus from time to time for dinner and a chat, most often just saying thank you for helping them out.  
As for Markus, he's a very busy man. After a rough breakup with North shortly after the protests- which in hindsight shouldn't have surprised him since the relationship came out of absolutely nowhere- Markus now lives with Simon in Carl's old house. Carl had unfortunately passed away in February 2039, and so Markus decided to follow in his father-figure's footsteps and become a famous painter. He also often finds himself in other cities, states and even countries talking about android rights, laws and general workings for those that are confused.  
Ralph was freed just in time before he was destroyed in a camp and was instead fixed. He gets lots of emotional support from both humans and androids alike. Ralph got himself a job as a cook at a diner, and eventually he buys himself the abandoned house and fixes it up to look like a home.  
Even the Traci's had got a home together, and soon they were getting married!  
Then there's Hank. Hank is just, well, Hank. He's still depressed and suicidal- though less so now- and he is still a raging alcoholic. He still swears like a sailor, drowns his feelings with booze, still plays the odd game of Russian Roulette and- and Connor quotes- "couldn't give less of a flying fuck about how many calories are in his fucking burger". Sumo is still a big, slobbery but nevertheless good boy, and it honestly seems like Sumo is the one taking care of Hank. The only difference between now and two years ago is that Hank is now a Father again.  
Connor is Deviant. Though he still hasn't lost his charm. He still has his soft and calming voice. He still has that head of fluffy brown hair with the signature strands hanging down in his face. He still has his scarce freckles and big, all too innocent looking, deep brown eyes. He still talks like an android. But a lot has changed. Though he still isn't very good with emotions, he is happy to be able to relate to Hank a little more when he does decides to show emotion. Speaking of Hank, it's thanks to him that Connor is no longer Connor, the android sent by CyberLife. No. It's thanks to him that Connor is now Connor Anderson, a Lieutenant working alongside his adopted father at the DPD.  
Though Connor is Hank's son, Hank only has one bedroom in his house so Connor has his own apartment. A fancy one with a spare room for the nights where Hank comes over for dinner and "a couple drinks" and ends up passing out and being to drunk to drive home, and too heavy to be driven home. Connor also has a dog of his own- a Husky names Jasper from a rescue center. He was a good boy, too. His fur is silver and white and soft, and one eye is a deep, chocolate brown while the other is a beautiful icy blue.  
Everyone content. Everything is at a comfortable constant. Life has a steady yet lively pace. It's refreshing.

  
Better enjoy it while it lasts.  



	2. Trauma

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Hank and Connor are the first to arrive at a crime scene- only to find something horrifying in more ways than one...
> 
> Trigger Warnings: Blood/Gore, Graphic depictions of injury, Panic attacks, Horrific writing skills, Self-Harm, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I don't usually write as much as I used to, so this is a new thing to me as of late.  
> Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chapter! <3

The case wasn't a very interesting one. Both Hank and Connor could tell you that one. Two androids had been shot and apparently so had the murderer. It wasn't completely boring but still, it wasn't like they hadn't seen anything like it before.

No, it wasn't the case in itself that made it interesting. It was what they found along with it.

  
It had been one of those rare nights that Hank and Sumo had come over the Connor's apartment to have dinner, and Hank had simply fallen asleep on the couch, warmed by a blanket of two big fluffy dogs. Connor had woken Hank up early to go investigate the crime scene, and they set out after a quick breakfast..

They were the first ones to the crime scene.

As Hank opened the door to the house and walked into the kitchen the two stopped dead in the tracks a what they saw. Two deactivated androids and a dead body both leaking their respective colours on the floor, which, funnily enough, wasn't the horrifying and disgusting part. Nothing new there really. Just part of the job.  


On the floor sat a small boy, a human boy, with his knees pulled to his chest and his eyes staring blankly at the puddle by his feet. He was dressed in nothing but a thin, flow-y vest top and a pair of short shorts- it was enough to make Hank shiver at the sight. He would have been more worried about the kid's warmth if it wasn't for the deep crimson gashes, cuts, stab wounds and even a gunshot wound littering the child's all-too-small frame.

Wasting no time, Hank made his way to rush over to the child before a gunshot rang deafeningly loud throughout the house.

The kid had just shot the gun.

It didn't hit anyone, it was clearly a warning shot, judging by the bullet hole in the laminate floor halfway between the lieutenant and the child. He held the pistol in his shaking hands as he glared at the older man, looking more traumatised than intimidating. Hank backed off slowly with his hands held in surrender. Connor took this opportunity to assess the situation. The child was scared- and not for no good reason. Three relatively fresh dead bodies were at his feet, so he more than likely had seen them die. Not to mention that at least one of the victims meant quite a lot to him. He was very beaten up- a deep jagged gash on his right cheek and a smaller cut of a similar nature on the eyebrow above, a split on the middle of his bottom lip, a deep slice on his right nostril, a cut on his chin and bleeding from his mouth, right eye and right ear. He had a gunshot wound in his left shoulder, his entire right arm and some of the exposed skin on the right side of his chest was scorched, his left arm littered with deep cuts that were still bleeding heavily, small pieces of broken glass in multiple parts of his body and a stab wound in his left hand. This kid was in bad shape, and it looked like he was barely fighting off loosing consciousness. He scanned his face to find that the kid was... unregistered.

No name, no date of birth, nothing.

Connor silently placed a hand on Hank's shoulder and pulled the man behind him before slowly making his way forward, making the child jump back at his movements.  
"It's okay. We're not here to hurt you..." Connor spoke clearly and gently, still taking tiny and agonisingly slow steps towards the shaking form. "You can put the gun dow-"  
Connor froze as the child snapped his arms up to point the gun at Connor's head.

A slight flash of fear shot through Connor but he quickly regained his composure.  


But he didn't shoot.

Instead, he lowered the gun a little. Connor was confused for a split second before realising where the boy was looking. The child's big, round, terrified eyes squinted at the blue light coming from the armband he couldn't bring himself to part with. Connor took this as an opportunity to move close enough so that the boy could literally reach out and touch him as he knelt down.  
Hank watched cautiously from the doorway as the boy's unfocused eyes flickered from the armband to the CyberLife triangle and then to the LED before finally, he was looking Connor in the eyes. The child completely lowered the gun, his grip on it loose and shaky before Connor swiftly yet carefully plucked it off of him and slid it across the floor.

Connor just knelt there as the child looked at him. He seemed to be scared of Hank, for whatever reason. Sure, it could've been that you have to be pretty close to Hank to realise he's just a big softie, and when you don't know him all that well or you're in his bad books then he can seem real threatening. But it was more like, Connor deduced, that the boy was scared of Humans. 

This opened up a bunch of knew possible answers.

The dead man was most likely a relative of the boy, and abused him. The androids were probably trying to protect him. He seemed to trust androids. Either that or just Connor because when the Android slowly and gently held out a hand to inspect the child's beaten and bloodied face, he didn't flinch away.

"I think we should call an ambulance," Connor said loud enough for Hank to hear.

"Yeah... No kiddin'..." Hank breathed, still in shock of what was happening. He was nearly shot by what looked to be a five or six year old kid!

A hoarse, almost inaudible shriek came from the boy as he shot up onto his shaky legs. Connor wanted to steady him but found it awkward to try and find a place to hold him that wasn't injured. As the boy stumbled forward the man caught him, expecting him to flinch or scream from pain, but was astounded as he just curled up to Connor, his bloodied hands tangled in his jacket, as he shivered and struggled to breathe.

Connor didn't know what came over him.

"Hey, I need you to breathe with me, okay?" Connor cooed softly as he gently sat the boy upright. "Breathe with me."

After a thousand hitched breaths, hot tears, choked sobs and most likely a couple times where the kid choked on his own blood, he was breathing relatively normally again.

"We won't go there, okay?" Connor reassured, pulling the boy closer as he curled up to him again. "We'll go somewhere safe. We'll try patch you up there. Alright?"

The child merely nodded, and Connor took that is his chance to scoop him up in his arms and make his way out of the kitchen.

"Wait wait wait hold on, what?" Hank stared at him confused, "We can't just not take him to a hospital! He's bleedin' out! He's been shot, for fuck sake!"

"I believe I have enough First Aid knowledge to prevent the child from dying for one night," Connor shot back coolly, "Taking him to a hospital will only panic him more. That will make it very difficult to solve the investigation."

Hank was about to lecture him on putting the mission before a human life, thinking that he had gone back to his android ways, before biting it back as he looked at his son's face. He was worried for the kid. And it seemed like he had decided to take responsibility for what happens to him for now.

As they arrived at Connor's car, Hank sighed and held his hand out.

"I'll drive," the older man huffed, "You can sit in the back with the kid and I'll drive us to your place."

Connor nodded and shifted his hold on the much too light child so that he could hold him with one arm as the other hand was used to fish out his keys from his pocket and toss them to Hank. Connor got in the back and closed the door so he could lean his back against the door, the child half conscious and barely holding on to him.

Connor instinctively ran a hand through the child's platinum blonde hair, though it was a little greasy and parts were matted with blood. Great. Now he had found even more untreated head wounds. The android noticed the child shivering and so he took off his jacket and wrapped it around the child's tiny body.

This was going to be a long night.  


* * *

_**//OBJECTIVE: CLEAN & TREAT WOUNDS** _   


_**//TASKS:  
** _

_**\- REMOVE GLASS  
** _

_**\- WASH OFF BLOOD & DIRT  
** _

_**\- WASH HAIR  
** _

_**\- DRY OFF  
** _

_**\- PUT ON DRY CLOTHING  
** _

_**\- DISINFECT WOUNDS  
** _

_**\- DRESS WOUNDS  
** _

The minute they got home, Hank hastily unlocked the door and Connor rushed the broken child into the bathroom, setting him down against the bath tub very gently, tugging the jacket around his shoulders so it covered him better. Hank had disappeared for a moment before coming back with a first aid kit.  


"Thank you, Hank," Connor huffed a short sigh of pure relief before tensing up once more to look at the child. He slowly stood up and made his way to the cabinet and fetched a pair of tweezers before rushing into the kitchen and returning with a bowl.  


Connor knelt down gently and spared another look of concern for the child. "I am going to remove the glass, alright?" A simple nod. Okay, right to work. The android started at the face, where the most and biggest pieces of glass were lodged. One by one the man plucked them out and dropped them into the bowl, creating a rather musical sound when they clacked against the ceramic of the bowl. The child didn't so much as flinch- instead he just cautiously eyed Hank who was standing in the doorway lost in his own thoughts. Connor then moved to his chest and arms- also finding a small piece in the side of his neck- and then to his back, middle and legs. The android sat back on his heals letting out another sigh of relief, setting the bowl aside to clean up later.  


_**//OBJECTIVE: CLEAN & TREAT WOUNDS** _   


_**//TASKS:  
** _

_**- <completed> REMOVE GLASS  
** _

_**\- WASH OFF BLOOD & DIRT  
** _

_**\- WASH HAIR  
** _

_**\- DRY OFF  
** _

_**\- PUT ON DRY CLOTHING  
** _

_**\- DISINFECT WOUNDS  
** _

_**\- DRESS WOUNDS  
** _

"We're going to have to clean you up before we apply bandages, alright? It's going to sting quite a bit..." The child just gave another weak nod, his eyes half-lidded and glazed over. Connor quickly ran the water for the bath and in the meantime scanned the child for any more injuries.

As well as the injuries he had identified earlier, he noticed the child had sustained quite a few serious bruises and he found something else he didn't like.

"His senses are... dulled..." Connor murmured worriedly.

"What does that mean?" Hank asked cautiously. His heart stopped a moment when Connor turned to look at him eyebrows knitted together in utter concern.

"It means that his sense of smell, taste, sight, sound and touch have been considerably damaged," Connor looked back at the child with the same expression, "He could quite possibly be brain damaged..."

"Holy shit..."

After a long moment of thick silence the younger man spoke up again.

"Hank, could you fetch me a couple towels and one of my t-shirts?" Connor asked, still focusing on the child. Without a word Hank disappeared and came back with said items before leaving the bathroom, just in case the kid threw another anti-human fit and found something to use as a weapon.

Connor turned off the tap and tested the water. It should be fine.

"Are you ready? It'll hurt a little..."

A weak nod is the only response he seemed to be getting. Connor swiftly yet very carefully peeled the child's blood soaked clothes off of him, the fabrics sticking to the half-open wounds. Once the boy had been undressed, Connor gently lifted and lowered him into the bathtub, expecting a scream of pain or something like the yelp from earlier.

Nothing.

The boy's eyes were squeezed shut, and sweat was blending with the blood and tears staining his all-too-pale skin. Most of the wounds had already stopped bleeding, which was odd. The ones that hadn't were at that stage where the blood had stopped flowing like water and was beginning to clot, forming a sticky and gooey substance.

The dried blood and the not-quite-dry blood washed off in the water, reveling the extent of the wounds. Even the gunshot wound seemed shallower than he had first thought. Connor helped clean off all of the dirt and grime and blood and a;; it did was reveal how pale the boy was.  


_**//OBJECTIVE: CLEAN & TREAT WOUNDS** _   


_**//TASKS:  
** _

_**- <completed> REMOVE GLASS  
** _

_**- <completed> WASH OFF BLOOD & DIRT  
** _

_**\- WASH HAIR  
** _

_**\- DRY OFF  
** _

_**\- PUT ON DRY CLOTHING  
** _

_**\- DISINFECT WOUNDS  
** _

_**\- DRESS WOUNDS  
** _

__Connor carefully leaned the boy upright for a moment so he could reach the shower head. He started running the water and adjusting the temperature accordingly before he readjusted the child so he could wash out of of the clumps of blood and dirt tangled in his hair. The boy hadn't moved in a while, and it had taken a moment for Connor to realise that he was scared to. Despite noticing, he said nothing, as to not stress him out anymore. He leaned the boy upright once again as he drained the red-brown murky water, gave the child (and the bathtub) one last rinse and hung the shower head back up. He then reached down beside the tub to pick up a large, fluffy towel and wrapped it round the small child's shaking frame. He used a smaller towel to gently dry off the boy's hair. The android then took extra care when he lifted the boy out of the bathtub and lowered him onto a stool before helping him into a t-shirt.  


Connor didn't wear t-shirts often, so it didn't really matter if the child borrowed one for a little while.  It looked like a dress on the poor boy, the supposedly short sleeves dangling past his elbows and the hem of the shirt tickling the backs of his shins. He was so small he was practically drowning in a light t-shirt.  


_**//OBJECTIVE: CLEAN & TREAT WOUNDS** _   


_**//TASKS:  
** _

_**- <completed> REMOVE GLASS  
** _

_**- <completed> WASH OFF BLOOD & DIRT  
** _

_**- <completed> WASH HAIR  
** _

_**- <completed> DRY OFF  
** _

_**- <completed> PUT ON DRY CLOTHING  
** _

_**\- DISINFECT WOUNDS  
** _

_**\- DRESS WOUNDS  
** _

Why was he going through this much trouble for one human child? What had gotten into him?

Connor set the child on the bathroom counter, and placed the first-aid box right next to him.  


He fished out all of the antiseptic cleansing wipes as he could find, immediately ripping them open and getting to work on clearing up the burns, gashes and cuts. Every now and then Connor would look up at the boy to see how he was fairing, but every time he would just be staring at what he was doing tiredly. Connor tried his best not to let on that he knew that the minute he would divert his attention back to what he was doing, the child fixed a curious gaze on him. Every now and then there would be a sharp intake of breath, but nothing vocal.

Finally, Connor got to work on dressing the wounds. Luckily, he had found a big enough bandage roll to cover the child's entire burnt arm in a thin layer- just so the air could get through. Another thing the android took note of was the child's left arm. He was covered from his should to his fingers in cuts. Self-inflicted cuts. As well as multiple cigarette burn scars from years ago. In fact, the kid had a lot of scars.

_**// <completed> CLEAN & TREAT WOUNDS** _   


Multiple band-aids, bandages and butterfly stitches later, Connor walked into the living room with the small child limping along not far behind him and clinging to his hand to see a very worried Hank hunched over on the couch staring at the ground. At the sight of the man, the child held on to the android's hand significantly tighter and his pace slowed to a halt.

"It wasn't as bad as we thought," Connor spoke up hesitantly, catching Hank's attention. "The wounds had stopped bleeding by the time he was in the bath." Hank's face screwed up in confusion.

"How the hell?" Hank asked, astounded, "The kid looked like he'd been stabbed a few times- he was shot, Connor! An' ya tellin' me he's fine now? After that?!"

"Yes," Connor spoke gently, squeezing the boy's hand in comfort after noticing him flinch at Hank's tone, "This child seems to have remarkable regenerative capabilities- though it is clearly nothing superhuman. He may not be healthy- but with the right amount of care, the child will not die any time soon." The older man remained silent as his gaze fell up the child, who was now hiding behind Connor's legs, holding Connor's hand in one of his own and gripping Connor's pant leg in the other.

"So ya gonna keep him here for tonight, then?" Hank's tone had softened considerably. Connor simply nodded. "He's already grown on ya, huh, kid?" He chuckled. Though Connor was unsure of who he was talking to. Before he could ask, Hank stood up- making the child flinch and hide- before making his way to the front door of the apartment. "I'll get out of your way so the poor kid can sleep. I'll swing by again tomorrow mornin' to see what we do next."

With a simple nod and thank you from Connor, Hank leaves. The android can practically feel the child relax. The man turns to face the child and kneels down so he's closer to his level.

"Are you hungry? Would you like something to eat?" He asks softly. The child shakes his head. Connor sighs; the child looks too thin and sickly for his liking.

Why is he so worried about him? He's just a child....

"I scanned you earlier and it appears you have not been registered. You do not have a legal name. Is there anything you want me to call you? A name you would like to go by?" Connor asks, realising that he had nothing to call the child.

The boy just looked at him, his eyes looking desperate and his mouth opening and closing as if he wanted to say something but wasn't sure whether he should. Before Connor could push any further, the child spoke up.

"Lonan," He says, his voice broken, hoarse and weak.

"Lonan?" Connor confirms, earning a shy nod from the boy, "That's a nice name. An Irish alternative to Logan or Conan meaning blackbird. Do you like birds?" Another shy nod. Connor smiles. "Well, my name is Connor. It is very nice to meet you, Lonan." The boy smiles before his head whips around to see Jasper nuzzling his hand with his wet nose. The child lets out a giggle before petting his soft fur gently.

"That's Jasper," the android chuckled softly, "Do you like dogs, then?" The child nods happily, hands still buried deep in Jasper's fur. "I like dogs too," Connor smiled, scratching Jasper behind the ear before standing up. Lonan simply looked up at the man, as if asking what he was going to do now. The android sighed softly and held out his hand for the child to take. "We should probably get you to bed. You look as if you need some rest." The child nodded and scratched between Jasper's ears one last time before taking Connor's hand.  
As they reached the guest bedroom, Connor carefully lifted Lonan onto the bed and laid him down gently as he sat himself down on the side of the bed. The child looked ten times sleepier now his head was on a pillow, though he was still clinging to the man's hand- his half-open eyes looking at him with an emotion Connor couldn't quite name.

"I'm going to get you a glass of water, I'll be right back, alright?" Connor asked slowly and gently. Lonan hesitated before giving a slight anxious nod and letting go of the androids hand. Connor left and came back moments later, setting a cold glass of water down on the bedside table and sitting back on the bed beside the boy who was now... shaking?

"Are you alright?" He asked, his voice drenched in concern. He only received a small nod in return. After a brief moment the android stood only for a small hand to shoot out and grab at his shirt, startling him a little. "I'll only be in the living room. I will come and check on you later, alright? You're safe now. I promise." The child's eyes burned with tears threatening to fall, and his lower lip quivered slightly as he hesitantly let go.

Something inside of Connor stirred as he left the room. Anger? Sadness? Pity? Guilt? It felt like a strange mixture of all of those. He felt furious that someone would hurt a seemingly innocent child so badly. He was considerably upset by the fact the child was scared of other humans. He felt incredibly sorry for the child since he had nowhere to go, and that he was so terrified of everything around him. He felt guilty because...

He didn't know why.

He knew it wasn't his fault the Lonan was abused. It wasn't his fault that the child supposedly saw two androids and a human die in front of him. It wasn't his fault that the boy could hardly speak, see, hear or feel. And yet he felt guilty. That look in the child's eyes set something off within him. Should he really have left him on his own? Was that a bad move on his part?

Regardless, Connor decided that he needed to do some odd spots of cleaning around the house, so he did just that. He didn't make much mess himself- it was mainly Hank. He didn't mind though, it gave him something to do when he needed to take his mind off of his new emotions. They weren't new of course- they just felt new.

He started in the bathroom. He retrieved the bowl of glass and emptied it into the kitchen trash can, setting the bowl in the sink. He packed up the first-aid kit and put it in the mirror cabinet along with the tweezers, then hung up his jacket. He then moved on to the kitchen. He mopped the floors and did the dishes. He threw Lonan's old clothes away, since they were absolutely ruined. He'd have to be him knew ones before he left anyway so that was something to do tomorrow he could look forward to...  


Wait, what? Why was he looking forward to buying the child clothes? It's not like he was his child!  


After Connor finished cleaning the entire apartment in just under an hour, he quietly made his way back into the guest room to check on the supposedly sleeping Lonan. But when he opened the door he saw that he was not in fact asleep.

Instead, he saw that he was sat with his knees hugged tightly to his chest rocking back and forth ever so slightly. He was visibly shaking and audibly breathing- much too quickly for Connor's comfort- and tears stained his cheeks as he stared distantly into the opposite wall holding a terrified look in his eyes.  
Connor gently placed himself on the bed beside the boy, making him jump. Lonan's head snapped up so he was looking at him, and he looked just as fearful as he did when he had mistaken Connor for a human.  
On instinct, Connor scans him.  
  
 _ **//SCANNING...**_  
 _ **//SCAN COMPLETE**_  
 _ **//SYMPTOMS:**_  
 _ **\- ELEVATED HEART RATE: 222 BPM**_  
 _ **\- RESTRICTED BLOOD FLOW**_  
 _ **\- RESTRICTED OXYGEN**_  
 _ **\- INTENSE SHIVERING**_  
 _ **//DIAGNOSIS COMPLETE**_  
 _ **//DIAGNOSIS: PANIC ATTACK**_  
 _ **//NEW OBJECTIVE: CALM LONAN DOWN**_  
 _ **//TASKS:**_  
 _ **\- SLOW BREATHING**_  
 _ **\- REASSURE**_  
 _ **\- MAKE SURE LONAN SLEEPS**_  
  
"Hey, hey..." The man attempted to soothe the child, "It's me... Connor. I'm here to help you, you're safe..."

No response.

"Lonan? Lonan, can you hear me?" Connor speaks up a little more, only earning a very slight jerk of the head in response. The android gently placed his hands loosely around the child's wrists, as his nails were starting to dig into the skin of his face. "Lonan, I need you to look at me..." Connor waited for him to do so before continuing, "Good. Now, try to breathe with me. It's going to be alright."

The two sat and breathed together for a good 15 minutes before Lonan's breathing was back to normal, besides the odd hiccup or shaky exhale. The child had curled up on his lap, hands once again entangled in his shirt. The man had instinctively wrapped his arms around the child to stop him from falling and to comfort him. The child was still shaking quite horribly.  
  
 _ **//OBJECTIVE: CALM LONAN DOWN**_  
 _ **//TASKS:**_  
 _ **- <completed> SLOW BREATHING**_  
 _ **\- REASSURE**_  
 _ **-MAKE SURE LONAN SLEEPS**_  
  
Connor started gently running his hand through the child's hair. He recalled the few times where Hank had done that when Connor had experienced panic attacks within the first few months of becoming deviant. It had calmed him down considerably so he hoped that it would work the same for Lonan.

"Everything is going to be alright..." Connor whispers softly, "You're safe now... No one is going to hurt you... You're okay, you're safe... I'm here for you..."  
Connor didn't know why he'd said that last part, but it had seemed to calm the child down a little- but not enough. Well, it was this or nothing...

"Hold on... just a little while longer... Hold on... just a little while longer... Hold on... just a little while longer... and everything will be alright... Everything will be alright" He wasn't much of a singer- that was not what he was designed for- but it was enough to make the child stop shaking. So he continued.

"Fight on... just a little while longer... Fight on... just a little while longer... Fight on... just a little while longer... and everything will be alright... Everything will be alright..." His words were slightly over-enunciated, and he was a little off key at times- but his voice was soft and soothing to even himself, and Lonan's big, round eyes looked up at him in contented amazement. It had taken him this long to realise that Lonan's eyes were just like Jasper's- his left a deep, dark brown and the other a piercing, icy blue.

"Sing on... just a little while longer... Sing on... just a little while longer... Sing on... just a little while longer... and everything will be alright... Everything will be alright... Everything will be... alright...." Connor sang softly with a slight smile. Lonan was smiling too.  
  
 _ **//OBJECTIVE: CALM LONAN DOWN**_  
 _ **//TASKS:**_  
 _ **- <completed> SLOW BREATHING **_  
_**- <completed> REASSURE**_  
 _ **\- MAKE SURE LONAN SLEEPS**_  
 _ **This was going to be easier said than done...**_  
  
After a moment the android gently lifted the child and lowered him back onto the bed, bending over to tuck him in. As the man straightened out Lonan grabbed his shirt once again.  
"Lonan, I will only be in the room across the hall..." he spoke softly, a worried smile gracing his face. The child simply shook his head and held on tighter, pulling at his shirt slightly.

There it was again. That guilt. He couldn't just leave. Especially not after what happened merely minutes ago.

Connor sighed and sat down on the bed once again, his LED spinning yellow as he synced up to all of the lights in the rest of the apartment to turn them off since he figured he wouldn't be leaving this room anytime soon.

Lonan carefully sat up and huddled up to Connor, who could do nothing other than place his arms around him for comfort. The child slowly begun falling asleep and after around 10 minutes, Connor laid down on his side with his head on a pillow, Lonan curled up to him with his face in his shirt. Luckily, Connor had at least decided to remove his tie before laying down. The boy's breathing was steady and calm. But Connor's mind was still racing.

Why was he going so far for a child he had never met? Why did he feel like he cared so much? Why did he feel like he had to protect the child? What was going to happen to Lonan tomorrow?  
  
 _ **// <completed> CALM LONAN DOWN**_  
 _ **//RE-EVALUATING OBJECTIVES...**_  
 _ **//RE-EVALUATION COMPLETE. OBJECTIVE FOUND.**_  
 _ **//NEW OBJECTIVE: WAIT FOR HANK**_  
  
Hank wouldn't be back until tomorrow morning, which was good. For once in Connor's "life" he felt completely drained of energy. He was tired.  
  
 _ **//STASIS MODE ACTIVATED**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY, so this was the longest chapter I've EVER written. I don't know about you but I love reading the longer chapters- because then it feels as if it's worth the wait!  
> However, I now understand the pain of the authors writing these long long chapters. That doesn't mean I won't do it again though!  
> Just to let you know, I have no idea where this story is going and I also have no schedule for writing, editing or posting so you'll get chapters when you get them I guess. Crappy system I know.  
> Anyway, I'm gonna take a nap because it's 10am and I've been up all night writing this lol!  
> Hope you enjoyed the first proper chapter of a shameless OC insert!  
> Byeee <3


	3. Update!

Okay! So. It's been a VERY long while since I last thought about this fic, let alone since updating it. So for that reason, I will be rewriting this at a later date. At the moment I am working on the very first chapter of "Pick Up The Pieces," another Detroit: Become Human OC fanfiction. However, this one has an Android OC, though they're backstories are quite similar because I have no creativity. The personality of Lonan may very well change when I rewrite "How To Be Human" but there are quite a few things I wanted to change about him anyway.

Thank you to all of you who read this short-lived fic and enjoyed it. I will be back again soon!


End file.
